The Magic of the Sea Day - March 13/10 Eastern

[papertraveller]

I've been reading your trip report...........excellent job.
My wife, granddaughter and I went on our first 7 day Disney cruise a couple of years ago. We too had Rexson as our server. We too enjoyed his fabulous service and attention to detail. Our granddaughter who was 7 years old at the time enjoyed joking around with him. He was one of the highlights of our cruise. We hope to have him again as our server when we go again. It was good to hear that he is doing well. Thanks for your great report.

Why thank you!

You will be interested to know that Rexson and his wife (who was onboard ship, but is now home in Thailand) are expecting their first child this summer. He's very thrilled and excited, and will be home then.

 

[papertraveller]

OK, now I'm totally hungry reading these last two updates. Good info.

Yeah, it's funny. Last night's mac and cheese suddenly doesn't look so good!

 

[papertraveller]

Really enjoying your cruise report ... you sound as though you had a wonderful experience.

Hello TotallyAngelic in Wales! I'm sure you'll have the same magical delights on your next voyage!

 

[papertraveller]

DVC

As new members, we haven’t even had a chance yet to try out the accommodations at WDW. That also means it’s a bit early to be thinking about an add-on, but heck, we can dream! So on the Sunday morning we attended the meeting for DVC members in Rockin’ Bar D. We had already received a Members’ Log Book and lanyards in our room. At the meeting we received bright red hats for the whole family, a beach bag, and mimosas. (There was a table with coffee and pastries, but we'd already enjoyed our breakfast.) The presentation was friendly and no-pressure. The information on add-ons has recently been offered through the webcast.

The freebies are a smart marketing idea. DD wore her hat everywhere, which makes for great free advertising for the club. We were in an elevator with a couple and he was sporting a DVC Member Cruise hat. I asked him if it was worth it, since I was reveling in the seven-day journey and wasn’t sure that a quick jaunt around the Bahamas was quite my cup of tea. But they raved about the experience, saying not only were they loaded down with freebies but had also enjoyed the onboard presentations of Roy Disney and Art Linkletter. (Not sure many people even remember who he was, but we did!) You know how they say you have to prepare an elevator pitch if you want to immediately influence a job interviewer or a client? Well these two certainly did a good job themselves in promoting the DVC member cruise!

DD and DH wore their hats as we walked by the kiosk on Deck 4, and were rewarded with BLT pins. We also received a photo of Mr. & Mrs. Walt Disney (a copy of the one in the room) walking onboard a cruise ship. And we received magnets on our door to complement the home-made presentation.

We continue to be very happy with our purchase, and have our next three DVC vacations plotted out. We can see this fitting very nicely into our holiday pattern, and are looking forward to visiting Vero soon and HH longer term. And we’d be thrilled if they’d add a property at Disneyland Paris too! (Can’t hurt to hint, right? )

 

[papertraveller]

Oceaneer’s Lab

So while Mom and Dad are off enjoying some entertainment, the crew in the Oceaneer’s Lab is handling scores and scores of children. DD loved the programming, and despite ordering us to show up at certain times so she could collect autographs or go to the pool, we were frequently turned away when we arrived. She’d spy us at the counter and give us a very stern, firm, head shake. We’d give her the international ‘Well when should we pick you up?’ look, and she’d mouth the word ‘Later’.

She loved the girl’s chill night, doffing her formal duds for pjs in a nanosecond so she could do girly things like paint her nails black. She helped clean up, and got a cool Oceaneer’s Lab ball cap. She enjoyed flubber, the mystery session (a clever piece of programming to develop the skills of deduction, but don’t tell the kids that), the dance show in Studio Sea, and the final send-off on the Walt Disney stage. But most particularly she loved meeting new friends. The t-shirt she received on the final night is covered with the signatures of counselors and friends. We hadn’t been home for more than 90 minutes before she grabbed the laptop and started sending emails to everyone she’d met.

The staff is enthusiastic, energetic, and hard working. They stick to the rules, and the kids learn quickly that they must stick to them too. They really do give their all to ensure the kids have a good time.

There has been a discussion elsewhere on the boards about the contraption the kids must wear. It’s akin to a large watch, and must be scanned whenever the child arrives or leaves the area. I’m not sure why it needs to be so large – surely a barcode on the wristband would do it? Nonetheless, the system worked for us. DD paged us a few times, plus we received bulk messages (at sea, no less!) inviting us to the shows, etc.

DD’s strap broke on her wristband, and she was most concerned because she’d heard all the warnings we were given about the costs incurred if we lost the contraption or the pager. We assured her that lots of kids must have broken theirs, and of course it was no trouble to replace. She never complained about the thing getting in her way.

There is no question in her mind that she wants to go back. A school friend went on a ship with an ice rink, bowling alley, flow-rider surf machine, big pools and more. But DD says that doesn’t matter – the Magic is where she wants to go. Fine by us!

 

[croppincolburn]

Enjoying your TR! thanks!

 

[papertraveller]

Enjoying your TR! thanks!

Thanks Lisa - I see you have a vacation planned also! I'm sure it'll be just as wonderful as ours was!

 

[papertraveller]

The sea days

Bad enough to put it in the title, and then not even write about it, huh?

The sea days were an unexpected revelation for me. I wasn’t sure initially what to make of them – they seemed like empty time just waiting to be filled. But from the moment I discovered Deck 4 and got into gear with my iPod and walked a couple of miles, the spell took hold. The sea day is bliss. You can gaze at the ocean, wander the deck and spot other cruise ships and freighters, sit for an hour or two and immerse yourself in the books you brought on board. You can nap. You can attend any number of sessions from martini tasting (more later) to towel folding (no time) to watching movies (even then we could fit only one into our very busy schedule).

I loved hearing from Captain John each day at noon. He’d offer a bit of oceanography, ocean depth, nearby landmarks (if any!), information from passing ships, and weather.

The sea day is somehow different from sitting on the beach at some Caribbean resort, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s infinitely more relaxing.

And then, if you’re lucky, you can do it all over again. The relaxation of these days will stay with me for a long time.

 

[papertraveller]

Hats

You need to be sure you pack hats for everyone when going to a sunny destination, right? So I dutifully tucked three in our bag and had them all ready to protect our tender northern scalps from the tropical sun. Just for good measure, when we were in Cocoa Beach pre-cruise in the torrential rain, DD persuaded DH to buy another one at Ron Jon Surf Shop.

Then we added three from the DVC presentation.

Then DD received a nifty navy blue number for helping clean up at Oceaneer’s Lab.

Then we were in St. Maarten wandering through the shops near the pier, and they had hats for only $5 apiece! We’ll take two! St. Thomas, they come packaged with cool t-shirts. We’ll take another two!

Oh, and my single desired souvenir for the vacation? All I wanted was a white DCL hat.

Make room for a baker’s dozen in the suitcase!

 

[papertraveller]

Characters

DD is still very much into the characters. I had promised her a new Disney Cruise Line autograph book, and thankfully it’s one of the few items that they sell at the small shop in the port terminal. She picked up Minnie’s signature there, and then added Mickey once we were onboard.

The Navigator gives a full rundown of who’s where, whether the atrium, deck … or just heading from one location to another. We caught Jo Jo that way (we’re years past that show, but that theme song is everfresh in my mind!). DD and Pumpkin21’s daughter met Captain Hook on the pool deck.

Everyone is scheduled for a character breakfast in Parrot Cay the first day after their meal in Animator’s Palate. For us, this was Monday, a sea day. We were at Table One, which meant that we were Mickey’s first stop. But the highlights were Pluto (DD’s favourite) who always notices her Pluto hat and spends some extra time with her, and also Peter Pan. This guy is amazing. Not sure how he sustains that energy and enthusiasm, but kudos for fully embracing the character!

Finally, we had managed to get through the whole trip, somehow, with a total absence of princesses. But there they were, Friday night and the atrium was full of hoop skirts and giggles. We quickly headed from line to line and hit for the cycle. It was kind of hectic, but also crazy fun.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Great updates! A real fun to read.

 

[pumpkin21]

Characters

DD and Pumpkin21’s daughter met Captain Hook on the pool deck.

and also Peter Pan. This guy is amazing. Not sure how he sustains that energy and enthusiasm, but kudos for fully embracing the character!



I missed getting the girls pic with Captain Hook because I only had your camera with me! Can you send me a copy to my email address?

As for Peter Pan, I swear he jumped out from under our table when we sat down for breakfast. He literally came from no where else! He just jumped out from under the table and scared us half to death!!! Fun times...

 

[lucy0558]

Thanks for posting this report. DH and I will be on our first Disney cruise this December and it's wonderful to read a first timer's thoughts. Very enjoyable reading!

 

[papertraveller]

I missed getting the girls pic with Captain Hook because I only had your camera with me! Can you send me a copy to my email address?

As for Peter Pan, I swear he jumped out from under our table when we sat down for breakfast. He literally came from no where else! He just jumped out from under the table and scared us half to death!!! Fun times...

The photo, as they say, is in the email! Hope all is well with you and that you've settled back into the daily routine ... but kept a little Magic too!

 

[papertraveller]

Thanks for posting this report. DH and I will be on our first Disney cruise this December and it's wonderful to read a first timer's thoughts. Very enjoyable reading!

You will have SUCH a good time! The secret really is to relax, be flexible, and let yourself be surprised and delighted.

 

[papertraveller]

Libations

As mentioned off the top, we took some wine and beer onboard. We packed it in a hard-sided carry-on suitcase, and put it on the belt at security at the port. As we waited on the other side, the security officer let out a great laugh. “I like that suitcase,” he said.

We advised Efren that we’d like to have wine glasses in our room, and within minutes he was back with a pair. Since we had late dining, we tried to get to the 6:15 shows. We’d head to the room around 5, bring a few snacks with us, and rest a bit with a glass of wine and watch the ocean go by. Once we were dressed, we’d take a glass with us up to the theatre.

We also bought the wine package from DCL. This was a good deal and operates similar to the wine plan that is available through the DDP in the parks. You choose from a set list of wines – we enjoyed the Hess chardonnay more often than not.

DD purchased the beer package on our first afternoon, before we’d even set sail. This didn’t quite pay off, but who cares? We got a couple of cool DCL souvenir glasses! One nice feature of this plan is that in addition to getting the 22-ounce glass for the price of a 16, when you’re done, you can just hand your glass to a bartender. In return, you receive a ticket that you can use the next day to get another glass of beer. (As I recall, there was a choice of only Bud or Heineken on tap. We did see many people with the buckets of beer: buy five and get six.)

We didn’t sample much of the Drink of the Day selections. I recall DH had a bourbon-based cocktail before dinner one night that he raved about. And I had a ‘boat drink’ on the beach at Castaway Cay. Would have had another once things were two-for-one at the end of the day, but DH wasn’t interested!

We registered for the beer, wine and martini tastings, thinking we’d need some form of activity one each of the sea days. The fee was $15 per person. Big surprise, we were late to each and every one!

We attended the wine tasting on our first sea day, the Sunday. It was held in Animator’s Palate in the back – rather an odd venue, since it felt like we were sneaking into the place when we shouldn’t. We sampled six wines: a very nice Riesling Kabinett from Selbach that proved to be our favourite; a Penfolds Merlot (DH’s notes say blackcherry, plum, leather, smooth); a blend called Evolution (the notes say flowery, fruity); a Chilean cabernet (the notes say herbaceous, basil); a pinot noir (no notes!); and Fairy Tale Champagne, a Disney exclusive (the note says the smaller the bubbles, the better the quality).

Beer tasting came next, on Monday. This was held in Diversions, and was dominated by guys. We sat at a table with a couple of really friendly men from St. Louis and very much enjoyed their company. The beer was good, the tasting and information okay but nothing special. (As I recall: Newcastle Brown, Stella, Guinness ... and something I've forgotten!)

And finally on the Thursday we attended the martini tasting. This was fun, where we met a most enjoyable couple from St. Louis. We started with a vodka martini, which was fairly straight forward. Then it was followed by three cocktails that aren’t technically martinis at all: Washington Apple (Crown Royal, Apple Pucker and cranberry juice); Ivory Keys (coconut rum, midori, coconut cream and pineapple juice for a most delectable boat drink!); and Chocolate Wrap (Absolut vanilla, Frangelico, Crème de cocoa white, really a dessert drink).

I'm not that keen on vodka martinis, so DH benefited from that! The others were yummy, especially the Ivory Keys.

 

[papertraveller]

Entertainment

The quality of the shows truly is exceptional. The staging, the lighting, the talent is all superb and made for a most enjoyable end to each day. When we were waiting for a Daisy Duck autograph one evening, her attendant asked where we were from. When she heard Toronto, she told us how she’d just come on board after spending a lot of time in the city rehearsing. So a little piece of Toronto’s talent (or at least, beneficiaries of its rehearsal space!) was on stage.

The stage shows were thus (in order): All Aboard (variety to give you a taste of what you can see more of later in the cruise); Twice Charmed; Alfred & Seymour; Pirate Party; Once Upon a Song; Dreams; and Remember the Magic. We attended the early shows, since we had late dining. We'd take a glass of wine in with us, and had also packed some small bags of popcorn so DD could munch and get a quick snack.

We caught Magic Quest and Match Your Mate on our first night aboard, led by the ever-energetic David from Ottawa. This set a great tone for everything to follow, from magic guys to jugglers to Heath Hyche to Who Wants to Be A Mousketeer. There was just so much to do that it became a bit dizzying trying to fit in everything on our A list.

Can anyone help me find an Alfred & Seymour DVD? They were our favourites by far.

 

[papertraveller]

St. Maarten

Shore excursion tickets are to be delivered to your stateroom, but ours never arrived. When I realized this the day before port, I went to Guest Services where they reprinted tickets.

We had decided that since we were cruising the Caribbean, when we were in port we should be in the Caribbean. We were also unfamiliar with the island, and so booked our snorkeling excursion through Disney. We selected the Golden Eagle Catamaran tour, which was billed in the brochure as “Feel the wind in your face as you sail to the French side of St. Maarten aboard a thrilling catamaran where unforgettable sunbathing and snorkeling awaits.”

Marketing really can be something, can’t it?

We followed our group along the pier (past Mein Schiff, a massive remodeled ship that now serves German travellers – they have hammocks on their balconies!) and across to the adjoining marina. The woman leading the way was impersonal and perfunctory, which proved to be consistent with the demeanor of much of the crew. We all took off our shoes and left them in laundry baskets, and found seats onboard.

The cat has a lot of great places to sit, whether you want to be on the nets out front or inside in shade, there’s plenty of room. The crew gave us little in the way of greeting or explanation or information of where we were going. They encouraged the kids to help hoist the sail on the outgoing journey (though since we were under power too, this meant we truly did feel the wind in our faces).

The music blasting, we were offered a fruit punch. The trip was enjoyable, the seas relatively calm. We travelled for around 30 minutes (not sure, actually, since I don’t wear a watch), past the town and the airport and around a point to a small-ish cove lined with beach umbrellas. This was our destination. If this was the French side of the island, we have no idea, since no one said anything. But the Germans had beat us there, and were standing waist-deep in the water having a great time.

We snorkeled around near the edge of the cove, and then DD headed to shore with a friend from the kid’s club and they spent the rest of the time happily in the sand. Once back on board, we returned our snorkel gear and everyone found a spot for the return trip.

This was fun – again the tunes were blasting, and two members of the crew got everyone in the mood with a conga line and other action dances. They distributed some half-sandwiches (including just veggie), beer and alcoholic punch, and then topped it all off with champagne as we pulled into the harbour, and had everyone on deck singing and dancing to YMCA.

(What is it about the Village People and cruises, anyway? Just wondering…)

We paid $75 each for this excursion, which was decent value. But the indifference of the crew was head-shaking. They seemed bored with the whole affair.

When we left the cat, we wandered around the small shops a bit. Met a delightful couple from Britain (can’t recall the name of the ship they were on, there were the three in port: us, Mein Schiff, and them). Bought an island beer for DH, a new pair of flip flops and a t-shirt for DD, and then found something special for MIL’s birthday.

Next time? I think we’ll head to the beach.

 

[papertraveller]

Slide shows

So we had friends over for an impromptu dinner on Saturday night, and they asked (asked!) to see our cruise DVD. So I popped it into the player, fast forwarded wherever possible (they didn't need to see the entire sailaway party, after all, even though David is a very energetic host!) and every time I turned my head, the pair of them were fast asleep!

Now this could be because their sewer backed up and they spent the whole day with contractors and the city arguing about who was responsible for the delightful mess they found in their basement.

The next day they called and said they really do want to see the DVD. But I'm holding out ... until they can respond like this:

 

[papertraveller]

St. Thomas

I was up early as we pulled into St. Thomas, and fell in love with its beautiful landscape immediately. As we pulled around the point of land where the Marriott Hotel sits, I felt we’d be in for a different kind of shore day than the day before. I was right.

We gathered with our fellow snorkelers in the Promenade Lounge, grabbed our towels and signed our waivers and were soon led ashore. We walked some distance to the foot of the pier, and across to the marina. We had signed up for Captain Nautica’s St. John Snorkeling Expedition. “Journey by RIB powerboat to St. John’s National Park and skim the turquoise Caribbean water at two specially selected snorkel sites brimming with exotic fish.’

Didn’t happen. Not sure why, but the captains of these vessels seem to be able to take you wherever they see fit, depending on the day. No matter. He took us out to French Cap where we were the only boat in the area, to snorkel along coral reefs. DH saw more than DD and I; she is a strong swimmer, but the current seemed too much for her and she soon lost interest. Once back onboard, we drove to a turtle sanctuary where the boats and snorkelers were stacked up like planes at the airport. The turtles fortunately didn’t seem to mind.

This was amazing. The turtles munch away on seagrass on the shallow seabed, then come up for air, and head back down again. We took a ton of photos on our new underwater cameras, but have no idea yet if they turned out. DH was the last person in the boat – he kept saying that it was like swimming in our BIL’s aquarium.

At one point I believe I counted six different boats anchored in the cove. Multiply that by a minimum of 25 people per vessel, and you can imagine the scene of all these snorkel vests bobbing around in the water. Pretty funny to look at. (Maybe this is an attraction for turtles…)

We had some cold drinks and munched on shrimp on the journey back to land. No complaints about the itinerary difference; puzzled, but it was an amazing day.

Back on land we wandered around the ritzier shopping area at the cruise ship port. If you’re in the market, you can get fractional ownership of one of the nice yachts in the harbour for $1.2-million. I wandered into the Coach handbag shop and asked about their pricing – the clerk told me the prices are the same as the U.S., although the selection can vary. The big difference is the tax, she said. (Not big enough for me. I waited for the Orlando outlet mall instead.)

We then wandered through Havensight closer to the pier. DH bought another island beer, and we picked up a few more souvenirs at the shops. Found $1 magnets for DD’s friends at home, a Caribbean rumball confection for our wonderful neighbour who’d been bringing in the mail, and of course the aforementioned hat-and-t-shirt combos!

We were quite captivated with St. Thomas, and would like to return. As for what to do on a shore excursion there next time, hands down: Magens Bay.